A case of Claudication, Radiculopathy and Spondyolisthesis
by Dr. Santosh Joshi

An interesting case of claudication and severe pain in the right gluteal region .The patient has turned to homeopathy because even after undergoing an endoscopic surgery on her spine the pain has not yet reduced.

The pain is so severe that she just cannot do anything and has to be in bed most of the time. She is taking pain killers and calcium sprays which are of little help.

There is severe pain in the right gluteal region with numbness .There is pain and uneasiness over the area of L1 - L2. Burning sensation in the right leg.

Aggravated by

Walking +2

Cold weather +3

Air Conditioner +2

Winters +2

Marble floor +2

Ameliorated by

Lying down

Pressure

Cold fomentation

Hot fomentation

Standing

There is also dryness in the throat at night +3.The patient says that she has lost the confidence of lifting anything. She also has hyperacidity and lots of flatulence.

After the initial details the patient told that she was a premature baby.As a child she suffered from febrile convulsions. And once she had fallen from a height of 10 feet and she had developed a hematoma.These didnít have any major effect on her.

She told us that she came from a poor family and it was a big family with 3 elder brothers and a younger sister. She was an unwanted child and her mother had refused to accept her she was even deprived of breast feeding .Now the question that arose in our mind was why the mother did refuse to accept her own child? She told us that in their tradition if after the birth of 3 male children if the 4th child is a female it is considered to be a great misfortune for the family.

Her mother didnít allow her to go to school till the age of 9 years. But she had a very strong desire to study. As she was her fatherís pet she managed to get into school. She was a very bright student she even completed her 8th and 9th grade in one year. She topped in her school throughout.

She has a younger sister who is very much pampered by her mother and she was not very good at her studies. So when she used to top the school her mother used to be very angry and she used to beat her and force her to leave her studies.

She used to work for the whole day after coming from the school and then study at nights in the temple. After her 10th grade she got into the science stream and after her Higher secondary studies she got admission in a medical college to which her mother totally opposed but her elder brother supported her.

She completed all her education on scholarships and she went on to do her masters in gynecology and obstetrics. After completion of her studies she worked very hard and as she was all alone she had to face lot of difficulties. She then opened a big hospital and then it was inaugurated by her mother. But her mother was interested only in the money part and she used to give her whatever she wanted without any hesitation. she served her mother for 20 years and after so many years the mother one day felt very bad and told her that whatever she has done to her is unforgivable.

Then I was curious about her family her marriage we asked her what about her marriage? She said that when she was in her first year MBBS her father expired due to Cancer and their family was not well off and she took the responsibility of settling down her brothers. She has seen to it that now all of them are well settled. She also said that her mother was never interested in looking out for a boy for her to get married .She felt bad about it.

She got married at the age of 50 years with a man who is already married and he fell in love with her after looking at the way in which she handled the work on her own. After her marriage she has adopted a child against the wishes of everyone in the family.

If she takes up some work she will look to it that it is completed and will not leave any work incomplete. She is very ambitious and takes her decisions on her own and has been quite successful in her field.

She suffered from an emotional shock when she lost her sister in law in a road accident.She is also emotional by nature and cannot see anybody suffering and gives charity and money to the needy.

The other point was she has fear of darkness and of ghosts .As a child she mixed easily with people. She weeps when she is alone when she feels bad about something but this is not very frequent.

When she is angry she expresses herself immediately but afterwards feels guilty about why she has scolded someone.

Pain betterNumbness on sittingAccident of nephew So lot of tension is very serious, Disturbed sleep

Rx:- Lycopodium 30 14 powders night14 days

3/6/04

Skin eruptions on the right armPain is much better

Rx:- Sl14 days.

30/8/04

The patient is free of pain. She is back to her work and feels good.At this point the patient asked if I had given steroids. The most common question these days. The patient was explained the fact that we donít use any such things and was also given a choice to test the medicine in a Laboratory.

The patient was put on Sac.lac and is under observation.

Arrival at the remedy

The selection of Lycopodium was based on the facts that the patient had a very difficult childhood.Inspite of the hardships she faced she didnít give up and studied well. After the fathers death she took all the responsibility to see that all her family members are settled this is one of the important aspects of Lycopodium personality we find this in repertory under the rubric ďResponsibility strongĒ.

This was reflected also in the fact that despite her mother hated her so much she didnít hold any grudge against her and she looked after her very well till the time she died.

Also the fact that she was very ambitious and intelligent and she did what ever work she took in her hand and completed it.

The other symptoms that were considered were the marked craving for sweets and the flatulence that were so marked in the case.